-= Gametoast.com =-

Just a quick question: What are the names of the songs that play in the menus? I really liked them.

Sam Hulick - Cut ME1 track #1
Sam Hulick - Cut ME1 track #2
Sam Hulick - Dark Corners of Space (or something. Sam tweeted the download link with the name of the track on Christmas but the file isn't available anymore.)
Jimmy Hinson - Shepard of the Galaxy
Clint Mansell - ME3 Menu Theme
Sascha Dikiciyan - Mission Kenson (from Arrival DLC, apparently)
Cris Velasco & Sascha Dikiciyan - Creation
Patrick O'Hearn - Forgiveness
Jack Wall - Suicide Mission
Sam Hulick & Jack Wall - Mass Effect Theme
Jack Wall - Vigil

Thanks Marth!

No problem. ^^

Here's my review. I've never played the Mass Effect series, so that may come into play on this review.


I was really excited for this mod, but I wasn't sure what to expect. I had seen what looked to be great things in the previews. Right as I started up SWBF2, I noticed the custom screens and mouse. The screens were too bright and annoying, and the mouse was just weird. The music was great though, and I looked forward to it every time I started up SWBF2. Now onto the gameplay.

When I first got to the unit selection screen, I was a bit disappointed. I did expect more, but what I saw was what I was not expecting. I saw another 501st side, just with new textures and models and guns. Don't get me wrong though; all these aspects are well made, it's just that it felt like another side mod. I then chose the unit that looked the coolest and played around with his gun and secondaries. After trying all the units, I felt that all of their guns were weak versus a shield and that their secondaries were almost useless. The secondaries WERE cool, but they just felt out of place, because I felt that I never had a need for them when fighting. I did not like the new camera angle either, but I have never played Mass Effect so I was not familiar with it. I can, however, see how people would like the camera angle, and it's all based on preference and what you play with most often in my opinion.

I'm not going to say too much about the maps because I only played one of them before uninstalling the mod. This is a pity, and it's only due to my dislike of the sides. I'm not going to go dig out the name of the map I did play, but in most aspects it was well made and I enjoyed its gameplay. I'm sure most of the other maps had great aspects about them as well.


I think that's all for now. Now for my closing statement(tl;dr). This mod is extremely well made, and I applaud it for that, but I am not able to appreciate some aspects of this mod because I have not played Mass Effect.

Noobasaurus wrote:When I first got to the unit selection screen, I was a bit disappointed. I did expect more, but what I saw was what I was not expecting. I saw another 501st side, just with new textures and models and guns.

Noobasaurus wrote:but I am not able to appreciate some aspects of this mod because I have not played Mass Effect.

I do believe the former might be because of the latter, but I really don't get is how it's "just another 501st side mod." I just don't understand. What, because there is a "Rifleman(Soldier)" "Sniper(Infiltrator)" and "Engineer" in the Alliance team? Did you only play the Alliance? What about the Geth and Collectors?

What were you expecting?

I just want to have a better understanding of your review, which is appreciated.

THEWULFMAN wrote:I really don't get is how it's "just another 501st side mod." I just don't understand. What, because there is a "Rifleman(Soldier)" "Sniper(Infiltrator)" and "Engineer" in the Alliance team? Did you only play the Alliance? What about the Geth and Collectors?

What were you expecting?

I just want to have a better understanding of your review, which is appreciated.

My thoughts exactly. It's especially confusing because I built the sides completely from scratch, not using any stock parameter values as references for any unit, weapon, vehicle, or power, nor did I base the classes off of the stock sides in any way, shape or form; everything is based purely off of what I've played and read in the Mass Effect franchise.

re: weapons and powers (secondaries), it's a lot easier to understand exactly what each power does and when it's supposed to be used if you've played the series. In fact, I think I'm going to create some sort of tutorial map sometime to teach new players about the different gameplay aspects and tech and whatnot.

The Alliance Engineer is a really good example of what powers can be used for. All of the Engineer's powers are called tech powers, with the exception of Medi-gel, a combat power. Overload, for instance, is good for taking out enemy shields and synthetics (i.e. the geth), whereas Incinerate is good at burning through enemy armor. It's actually all explained very thoroughly in the load screen "Codex entries". :p


The biggest question however is WHY HAVEN'T YOU PLAYED MASS EFFECT?!

THEWULFMAN wrote:What, because there is a "Rifleman(Soldier)" "Sniper(Infiltrator)" and "Engineer" in the Alliance team? Did you only play the Alliance? What about the Geth and Collectors?

It's not solely based on the classes available, but more on how the individual units are set up. Usually in a side mod I see the following:
Primary 1: Main Gun
Primary 2: Pistol or utility
Secondary: Grenades, mines, utility

That's almost what I saw here, though the secondaries were new, and I liked the concept, but not the actual secondary weapons.

THEWULFMAN wrote:What were you expecting?

I was expecting something more than a side mod. Something that would make me smile at the beauty of it, at its polish(I did see quite a bit of that here), at the new and exciting features it would bring. I was really looking forward to the sides, as I believe that is the main part of this mod. I saw cool, new effects in previews and yearned to see more and to be able to use those weapons. Now that I reflect back to that time, I realize that I did not take on an analytic view of the whole mod because I was so enthralled at the new effects and shiny colors(you really don't see them too often). I had forgotten my previous experience with mods involving shields: takes too much time to kill an individual, and somehow they kill you faster.

Now seeing that Marth has posted, I'll add something more.

Alright, you didn't use stock stuff, but I guess it's the way every game is set up, and somehow it bugs me.

You made a good point about the weapons and powers. It probably is easier to understand how to use each class effectively if you've played the series. For me, I try to find the most fun/powerful class and kill everyone.

I haven't played the game because I don't buy games too often. Now, if it were free, it would be a whole other story...

:(ahah)

Noobasaurus wrote:It's not solely based on the classes available, but more on how the individual units are set up. Usually in a side mod I see the following:
Primary 1: Main Gun
Primary 2: Pistol or utility
Secondary: Grenades, mines, utility

That's almost what I saw here, though the secondaries were new, and I liked the concept, but not the actual secondary weapons.

Mass Effect actually doesn't have "main guns", per se. Each gun is effective towards different health types.

-assault rifles: relatively good against all health types, typically
-shotguns: effective versus kinetic shields and biotic barriers; ineffective against armor
-heavy pistols: effective against armor; ineffective against shields and barriers
-submachine guns: very effective against shields and barriers; not effective versus armor
-sniper rifles: very effective versus armor; not very effective versus shields and barriers

Noobasaurus wrote:I was expecting something more than a side mod. Something that would make me smile at the beauty of it, at its polish(I did see quite a bit of that here), at the new and exciting features it would bring.

I have a ton of expansion packs planned that will include new factions, levels, and campaigns. Also patches, of course. Lotsa patches. And space magic.

To call this 'another 501st mod' is kind of inaccurate, especially since every single thing was made from scratch and how the gameplay is completely different, but to each their own really. When I play this mod, I typically never feel I'm even playing Battlefront 2 anymore. Could just be how one perceives it.

Marth8880 wrote:Mass Effect actually doesn't have "main guns", per se. Each gun is effective towards different health types.

-assault rifles: relatively good against all health types, typically
-shotguns: effective versus kinetic shields and biotic barriers; ineffective against armor
-heavy pistols: effective against armor; ineffective against shields and barriers
-submachine guns: very effective against shields and barriers; not effective versus armor
-sniper rifles: very effective versus armor; not very effective versus shields and barriers

I see these types of weapons are usually in a lot of side mods, but I can see their intended use. However, I feel like a lot of weapons are repeated throughout many side mods(and probably throughout games).

RevanSithLord wrote:To call this 'another 501st mod' is kind of inaccurate, especially since every single thing was made from scratch and how the gameplay is completely different, but to each their own really. When I play this mod, I typically never feel I'm even playing Battlefront 2 anymore. Could just be how one perceives it.

I strongly believe that it is just how one perceives it. Yes, everything was made from scratch, but the units felt to me like another 501st. This is probably just how the units were set up, and not much more. Now if I understood the role of each unit, my review may be a bit different.

And some 501st mods could have been made from scratch also. My favorite was the Saga of the 607th. (Offtopic much?)

And now time for yuke5's review:

First off, I would like to immediately say that I LOVED all the polish in the effects and sound that went into this mod. The shield effects were cool (you know, when the shield takes fire) and there were a lot of little things that made themselves clearer to me the more I played. For example, I spent about one minute just shooting a clip of disrupter assault rifle rounds into a wall just to look at the impact effects. All of the biotic effects were neat too, and I really liked how Harbringer looked with all those little swirly lights flickering around him. That really impressed me. The weapons sounds are all awesome, and I the different voice overs for the different factions were great; it really added to the immersion. All the player made models were superb, and really looked like the came right from Mass Effect. Well done, TNA and Frayed Wires. Your work on this mod is really amazing.

Critical Stuff:

While all the sides were fun and fairly balanced, I felt some lack of consistency. Some sides had unlockable units, or had more units than the other team. I know I have said this before, but I'll say it again: I really think that the mod could benefit if some sort of template was used for each side. I have a couple ideas for this hypothetical template, but they're pretty specific, so feel free to ignore them if you dislike them, but, hey, if any of my ideas strike your fancy, that is cool too.
However, if the sides are going to kept as they are, a have a few things to say suggestions too.

Basic sides suggestions:

Vehicles (For all sides):
Maps:

Virmire: Eden Prime: Prothean Skyway: Tantive IV:
I know all this criticism may seem pretty negative, but I'm writing all this because I think this mod is amazing, but I think it can be even better. I have never had this much fun playing a large-scale mod since Dark Times. Fantastic work.

Thank you so much for your feedback! Now it's time for the part where I respond to it.

yuke5 wrote:While all the sides were fun and fairly balanced, I felt some lack of consistency. Some sides had unlockable units, or had more units than the other team. I know I have said this before, but I'll say it again: I really think that the mod could benefit if some sort of template was used for each side. I have a couple ideas for this hypothetical template, but they're pretty specific, so feel free to ignore them if you dislike them, but, hey, if any of my ideas strike your fancy, that is cool too.

The problem I have with templates is they make sides feel really repetitive. Also, I set up the sides (more-or-less) identically to how the enemies and units in the Mass Effect trilogy are set up.

yuke5 wrote:Systems Alliance:

These guys really need some unlockable units. I've proposed an idea of randomly rotating N7 units before during a beta release. I really think the map would benefit from it. Maybe on some maps there would be a Krogan Soldier and Asari Adept avaliable for unlock, but if you play it again, it's a Turian Sentinel and Salarian Engineer. Just a thought.

Yep, I plan on adding the N7 unlockable units sometime in the future as an expansion pack.

yuke5 wrote:Geth:

A few of the classes for the geth blend together. The Geth Hunter and Geth Shock Trooper play somewhat similarly. However, I think if they were augmented slightly, give a little more individuality, I think they could play well against the base N7 classes. The Juggernaut and flame thrower guy (forgot his name) are pretty distinct, and I like them. Currently, I think the Geth and
N7 are the best matched sides so far.

Heh, they're probably so well-matched because they were the first sides I created.

yuke5 wrote:Reapers:

Oh boy, these guys. I consider the Reaper side to be the most fun to play as. However, I also think it is ill suited to currently play against the Systems Alliance. I always have a tough time winning as the Reapers, and I stomp them as the Systems Alliance (except on Tantive IV, where the Husks and Abominations really shine). While many of the Collector Species units are well made, the melee units really make the Reaper side suffer. I'll see these guys get picked down left and right. The Husks are really ill-suited to fight in any relatively open map. I'm very unfamiliar with the Reapers, and I feel guilty criticizing them, as I can't offer much in any way to adjust the side and remain faithful to Mass Effect.

I'm actually considering making the Husks locals (and probably keeping the Abominations) so killing them won't affect the team's reinforcement count.

yuke5 wrote:Systems Alliance:

The Soldier unit simply has too many guns. I have trouble just scrolling through them all. I really think the Soldier should have a two primary weapons, like the often do in the multiplayer aspect of Mass Effect 3. I also think the N7 really needs a unit with some sort of heavy explosive weapon to deal with turrets and vehicles. It really stinks to be a member of the Systems Alliance on any map with enemy vehicles, as there are no units who can really fight back with a boom.

The reason behind the Soldier's primary weapons is the class is supposed to be well-rounded with all weapons other than submachine guns. It really just wouldn't be a true Soldier if it didn't have them all. re: heavy weapons, the sniper rifles and pistols are actually relatively effective against vehicles and turrets, especially the Mantis with Armor-Piercing ammo. I'll definitely consider some sort of heavy weapon or something though for some unit or another, though.

yuke5 wrote:I know this is going to drive you crazy, but I can't remember any of the Vehicles specific names.

The gunship glitches whenever I press "c". I lose complete control. I understand that you don't want a propeller powered vehicle to be able to turn upside down, so I would recommend making the gunship work like the Republic Gunship, where when you press "c", nothing happens.

The six wheeled assault tank has glitched on me a couple times where all its wheels tires have fallen off and the wheel plates stick about 3 feet out, suspended in air. The vehicle itself is also somewhat stiff, but all wheeled vehicles in battlefront seem to be, so I can't say you're at fault. As a side note, I love the engine's sound - nice and powerful.

Heh, I've actually finally fixed both the Mako and the Mantis Gunship; the Mantis is now a hover vehicle - it handles incredibly well now and it's piloted the way it should be - and the A.I. are finally certified to drive the Mako (well).

yuke5 wrote:Virmire:
I like the environment created, but I'm not as much of a fan of the layout of the map itself. It's a cool idea to have the setting of a map be randomly generated, but I would rather just have both exist at once. I, personally, would have enjoyed the map more if I could descend a ramp into the canyon floor (with no walkway overhead), walk on the beach to capture a cp, and then ascend a ramp to fight on the walkway. On areas where there is a walkway, the option to walk on the ground would be blocked by, say, some rubble. This is just one man's idea though. It's your map, and I do like it. Virmire is a pretty planet.

Heh, speaking of which...

yuke5 wrote:Prothean Skyway:
Prothean Skyway is pretty bleak looking, but in a good way. The size of the map plays well with the TDM, CTF gamemodes. The one thing I don't like the the linear gameplay. There is more or less just one side route, and it follows the same direction as the highway. If some more directions were available, the map would be much better for it. Maybe the area where the Systems Alliance spawn could be expanded a bit. The damage of the map could also be put into a little more use, if some craters were available to be used as cover (like on Mygeeto). The Geth could also use a little alcove like the Systems Alliance. Maybe part of the skyway wall could have a significant chunk missing and the Geth camp out in there.

Yeah, I'm definitely considering expanding the bunkers under the Skyway as well as extending the length of the playing field.

yuke5 wrote:One last suggestion. If Unification ever has a Hero Assault gamemode, you should totally add Marauder Shields.

HAHA, YES

yuke5 wrote:I stomp them as the Systems Alliance (except on Tantive IV, where the Husks and Abominations really shine).

And don't forget Mustafar, they cornered me into the one command post with the two bridges at the back of the map.

Dedicated server is UP!

NAME: Unification (r1) USA West (might be "v1.0" instead of "r1")
LOCATION: Seattle, WA, USA
HOST: Hypernia.com

Finally!

N00B Question Time!
So, uh, I'm kind of new to the PC Battlefront II thing...had it on my PS2, figured it'd be more fun on the PC. I've downloaded and installed your mod, and I go into the game and I'm on the main menu. It has the mass effect backround and music, but every time I try to go into an instant action, it just gives me the vanilla gameplay. I see two maps on the left map selection that aren't in the original game, but it won't let me play them. There aren't any other factions to be played either on the normal maps. Could someone help me with this please? I'm probably missing something really easy, but I'm not sure what. Thanks!

Did you install the unofficial 1.3 patch as well? The installer is included with the download.

Yeah, I just did and it works well now. Thanks, man! Just a heads up though... on the options screens and most others, there's a lot of NULL items. Something to work on, maybe. Thank you!

That's something wrong on your end. I don't know what would cause it to happen for you though.